The Galway Walker

The place for me to bang on about everyday nuances, archaic games and food. Please enjoy and comment!

28 December 2016

2016 retrospective

2016 was actually a good year for me, despite everything that has happened. Lots of running and lifting and plenty of time to focus on what's good. Also started a new college course on a whim in October and it's been working out pretty well so far.

Lots of shocking things - too many stars died this year, the ones that hit me the most were probably AA Gill & Prince recently enough and George Michael and Carrie Fisher at the end. At least David Bowie got his swan song out, what a way to go. Bowie was the big one that got everyone going that and the shite election and Brexit.

Brexit has probably shocked me more and is genuinely history in the making. I obviously didn't want it to happen but I am curious - is it the thing that will re-invigorate the European Union? Will the UK be humbled but continue to truck along it's own path? I have a few friends and family in London and Scotland so I hope it works out well for all of us.

Trump vs. Clinton, worst election ever. First election I genuinely had no interest in and just could not get into. There was little to chew on in issues and it was all about how terrible the candidates were. I wanted Hillary to win but all my interest in the election was sucked out when Sanders was boxed out and eventually defeated in California and at the DNC.
We stayed up and watched the results come in on the election night for quite some time and I remember we went to sleep around the point that Texas and most of the central states came in and Trump was too far ahead for comfort. I woke up the next day and was so wrecked from staying up I didn't fully acknowledge the result ad didn't bother going into college that day as it was revision anyway and everyone would probably be distracted by the result. I'm not in the hysterical 'we're all going to die' camp so I won't be saying any prayers over every faux pas and blunder amped up by the media but I will be quietly observing the second crazy Republican presidency of our times, at least Reagan had some class.

Theo is a huge boy now, really strong and fast and his speech is coming along really well he's always full of chat and has such a great personality that he's a real joy to be with. Cannot believe he will be 5 in March 2017 but there you go. He had a great Christmas, we all did down in Ennis it was quite relaxed. We watched a ton of movies and didn't pig out too much. Royce is around until the start of January so having a good week of merry until then. I won't be back in GMIT until mid to late January so will try and enjoy this break as much as possible.

College - did a creative writing course in early 2016, it was kind of crap overall though it did open my eyes to some things. I'm not a terrible writer but there is a long way to go. I just wasn't in the mood to stick with it in the end (I did go to the majority of classes). I did a bizarre team-working class in June/July with a bunch of 18-25 year olds and that was also a big eye-opener. Finally I registered for a Springboard in GMIT in September on a whim and got accepted at the last minute and started in early October. It's been pretty good ad prospects look good for a job, perhaps as early as January or February 2017 and at the latest after the course finishes in May 2017.

Gaming - Call of Cthulhu wrapped up in the first half of 2016 (what a great campaign) and after a brief foray into Pathfinder the core group of three guys and our GM charged into the Doomstones campaign for 1st edition Warhammer FRP. It's been pretty good so far, I alternate between joking around and fearing for my character's life constantly, so I'm happy. I also acquired the Doomstone of Earth, my perennial fave element in gaming and out.

Plans for 2017 - birthday/yellow belt training the same day but will do something on the Friday 13th to celebrate. We have a wedding to go to one weekend and then Warpcon the last weekend; job can wait until after when I have a clear run but I will start looking and applying in January for something in medical devices. I'll just keep adding two laps a month to my running schedule, twice a week every week with at least two days break in between. Currently at 24 laps or 9.6km so should be back at 12km around March, where I was in 2011 pre-running hiatus etc.! Might try and take up another sport or something.

That's about it, 2016 was really good for me and here's hoping 2017 will be even better.

02 December 2016

Quotes buried on FB profile

"Fortiter et Fideliter" - "Bravely and faithfully". - Fallon Family Motto"There's no I in team, but there is an I in pie.There's an I in meat pie.The anagram of meat is team, I don't really know what he's talking about... " - Simon Pegg (Shaun)"Blow wind, come wrack! At least we'll die with harness on our back." - Macbeth"The workers have nothing to lose but their chains, and have a world to win. Workers of the world, unite!" - Marx"I cannot die ... What would happen to Germany?" - Kaiser Frederick III"God has made us for civilising the world. Woe and death to all who resist my will." - Kaiser Wilhelm II"The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia." - Otto von Bismarck"Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I attack." - Marshal Ferdinand Foch"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man." - Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski"Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos." - Walter Sobchak"If I went 'round saying I was an Emperor, just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!" - Dennis"It is with much embarrassment that I have returned alive." - Shoichi Yokoi"Let's do 'em, man! Let's do this whole fucking village!" - Bunny"The greatest battle implement ever devised." General Patton, on the M1 Garand"Countries do not exist where I am from. The discovery of the Higgs boson led to limitless power, the elimination of poverty and Kit-Kats for everyone. It is a communist chocolate hellhole and I'm here to stop it ever happening." - Eloi Cole"I'd like to send this letter to the Prussian consulate in Siam by aeromail. Am I too late for the 4:30 autogyro?" - Charles Montgomery Burns“I might have jumped into Normandy but at least I got some liberties in London and Paris. You gyrenes, you got nothing but jungle rot and malaria. Welcome home." - Cab Driver in The Pacific"They taught me how to kill Japs... I got pretty damn good at it" - Eugene Sledge"Point, Ray. I was one of those unfortunates adopted by upper middle-class professionals and nurtured in an environment of learning, art and a socio-religious culture steeped in more than 2000 years of Talmudic tradition. Not everyone is lucky enough to have been raised in a whiskey tango trailer park by a bow-legged female whose sole qualification for motherhood is a womb that happened to catch a sperm of a passing truck driver." - Sgt. Brad "Iceman" Colbert"What makes us omniscient? Have we a record of omniscience? We are the strongest nation in the world today. I do not believe we should ever apply that economic, political, or military power unilaterally. If we had followed that rule in Vietnam, we wouldn't have been there! None of our allies supported us; not Japan, not Germany, not Britain or France. If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merit of our cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning." - Robert McNamara"Death is an acceptable alternative to Communism!" - Liberty Prime“The 20th Century was the centuryof Physics and Chemistrybut it is clear that the next centurywill be the century of Biology" - Robert F. Curl"Extremely serious. It starts with a slight fever and dryness of the throat. When the virus penetrates the red blood cells, the victim becomes dizzy, begins to experience an itchy rash, then the poison goes to work on the central nervous system; severe muscle spasms followed by the inevitable drooling. At this point, the entire digestive system collapses accompanied by uncontrollable flatulence. Until finally, the poor bastard is reduced to a quivering wasted piece of jelly." - Dr. Barry Rumack"If you mean a wealth tax; well, I invented it" - Garret FitzGerald